Method and system for active learning

ABSTRACT

A method and system for conducting interactive classroom learning that can utilize a plurality of electronic audio and video equipment, mobile computing devices, and processing servers, interconnected via a first network infrastructure in a classroom or presentation hall to deliver seamlessly interactive multimedia contents to each of one or more participants in classroom or presentation hall; wherein the participants comprises one or more lecturers or presenters, and one or more students or audiences. The method and system allow the control and coordination of the electronic audio and video equipment, mobile computing devices, and the processing servers to deliver the interactive multimedia contents to the participants in the classroom or presentation hall simultaneously and to facilitate the information input-output interactions to and from the participants; wherein the interactive multimedia contents can be divided into multiple parts or streams, and each being personalized for each or each subset of the participants.

CROSS-REFERENCE WITH RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation-in-part application of the U.S.Non-provisional Utility patent application Ser. No. 13/685,720, filedNov. 27, 2012, and the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material,which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent Office patent fileor records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to classroom informationtechnology. Particularly, the present invention relates to methods andsystems of classroom learning and presentation of lecture materials.More particularly, the present invention relates to the interactiveclassroom learning methods and systems using a network of coordinatedelectronic devices for presenting the lecture materials and facilitatingthe lecturer's and students' participation.

BACKGROUND

Traditionally, the use of information technology in classrooms andpresentation halls is limited to ad hoc fashions. Often it merelyinvolves the display of presentation slides or videos using an overheadprojector or large video display monitor and an integrated sound system.Better-equipped classrooms or presentation halls would provide wirelessnetwork infrastructures for Internet connection and intra-roomnetworking capability for the participants to be interconnected usingtheir own mobile computing devices. Still more advanced classrooms orpresentation halls would allow interactive lecture or presentationmaterial contents to be accessed by the connected mobile computingdevices, complimenting the lecture or presentation in progress.

However, there has not been any system that can deliver a seamlessinteractive lecture or presentation experience to the participantsthrough the use of a plurality of information technology equipment ofvarious types. For instance, while most arrangements of informationtechnology equipment are capable of simultaneously deliveringnon-interactive contents through an overhead projector, the soundsystem, and perhaps to the participants' individual mobile computingdevices by video-streaming via wireless network; no existing system candeliver interactive contents comprising many different tracks todifferent equipment such that the content being displayed by theoverhead projector can be different from the content beingvideo-streamed to the participants' individual mobile computing devices,and yet the playback of each of the different track of interactivecontents being real-time synchronized and controllable by the lectureror presenter.

Another shortcoming of currently available systems is that the initialsetup for delivering the lecture or presentation material contents to arange of different information technology equipment can be burdensomeand time consuming, degrading the overall participants' experience ofthe lecture or presentation. For instance, the connection of eachparticipant's mobile computing device to the classroom's or presentationhall's network infrastructure for content access can involve softwareand hardware network configurations, the device's and the participant'sauthentication and authorization. This process is prone to human errorsand it must be carried out by each participant.

Currently available systems also do not deliver a comprehensive learningexperience without constant network connectivity. Once the participantleaves the classroom's or presentation hall's network infrastructure,the interactive lecture or presentation experience stops. As such, mostof these currently available systems are limited to facilitating onlineactivities without the capability to account for offline activities.They are also limited in their capability in tracking and assessing thelearning progress of students throughout a multi-module program and theydo not integrate education with other life aspects of the participant.

SUMMARY

It is an objective of the presently claimed invention to provide amethod and system for conducting interactive classroom learning that canutilize a plurality of electronic audio and video equipment, mobilecomputing devices, and processing servers, interconnected via a networkinfrastructure in a classroom or presentation hall to deliver seamlesslyinteractive multimedia contents to each of one or more participants inclassroom or presentation hall; wherein the participants comprises oneor more lecturers or presenters, and one or more students or audiences.

It is a further objective of the presently claimed invention to providea number of interactive lectures and curriculums based on theaforementioned method and system for conducting interactive classroomlearning. The goals of building the interactive lectures and curriculumsinclude:

-   (a) enhancing students' interest in learning different skills such    as language skills (e.g., speaking, writing, listening),    mathematical skills (e.g., basic concept of decimals and unit    conversion for capacity and volume), coordination of different parts    of their body, IT skills (e.g., computer graphic manipulation),    specific subjects (e.g. navigation skills, human anatomy and    physiology, visual art), etc.;-   (b) enhancing classroom management;-   (c) encouraging students' participation in the class;-   (d) facilitating lesson preparation;-   (e) enabling real-time assessment and comparison of students'    academic and learning performance; and-   (f) replacing conventional teaching tools by virtual platform.

One aspect of the presently claimed invention is the method and systemused to control and coordinate the electronic audio and video equipment,mobile computing devices, and the processing servers to deliver theinteractive multimedia contents to one or more of the participants inthe classroom or presentation hall simultaneously and to facilitate theinformation input-output interactions to and from the participants;wherein the interactive multimedia contents can be divided into multipleparts or streams, and each being personalized for each or each subset ofthe participants.

Another aspect of the presently claimed invention is the rapid andhighly automated participant authentication and network connectivitysetup for new participants with their mobile computing devices joiningthe first network infrastructure in the classroom or presentation hall.

Still another aspect of the presently claimed invention is allowing thefirst network infrastructure to facilitate the simultaneous streaming ofmultiple parts or streams of the interactive multimedia contents to theelectronic audio and video equipment and mobile computing devices with anetwork latency of no more than 500 milliseconds, enabling a real-timesynchronized interactive lecture or presentation experience among theplurality of participants in the classroom or presentation hall.

In accordance with various embodiments, the presently claimed inventioncomprises a first processing server for one or more classrooms orpresentation halls; a mobile computing device for each of one or moreparticipants in each of the classrooms or presentation halls, whereinthe mobile computing devices can be tablet computers, laptop computers,Netbook computers, and/or combinations thereof; and optionally one ormore electronic audio and video equipment in each of the classrooms orpresentation halls, wherein the electronic audio and video equipment canbe overhead projectors, electronic video displays, sound amplifyingsystems, and/or combinations thereof. In accordance with one embodiment,the first processing server, the mobile computing devices, and theelectronic audio and video equipment are interconnected via the firstnetwork infrastructure, wherein the first network infrastructure can bea local area wired, wireless, or a combination of wired and wirelessnetwork. In the case of local area wired network, the first networkinfrastructure includes a router; and in the case of local area wirelessnetwork, the first network infrastructure includes a network accesspoint.

In accordance with various embodiments, the first processing server isconfigured to exchange data with the mobile computing devices, whereinthe data includes participants input and parts or streams of theinteractive multimedia contents. The first processing server is alsoconfigured to allow participant control of the electronic audio andvideo equipment using one of the mobile computing devices and feed partsor streams of the interactive multimedia contents to the electronicaudio and video equipment. The first processing server is alsoconfigured to control the first network infrastructure via the networkaccess point or router, adjust and/or segment its connectivity coveragearea, enable and disable network connections of and networked resourceaccesses by the mobile computing devices. In accordance with oneembodiment, the first processing server also comprises a data repositoryfor storage of participant information, the interactive multimediacontents, and lecture or presentation materials. In accordance withanother embodiment, the first processing server communicates with asecond processing server for data retrieval and storage via a secondnetwork infrastructure, wherein the second process server comprises adata repository for storage of participant information, the interactivemultimedia contents, and lecture or presentation materials.

In accordance with various embodiments, the mobile computing devices aregrouped into at least two groups: a lecturer or presenter group, and astudent or audience group. Mobile computing devices in the lecturer orpresenter group are configured to interact with the first processingserver to achieve the following functions:

-   -   1. Control and monitor the functions and status, including power        on/off, sleep mode on/off, volume, and general conditions, of        the electronic audio and video equipment;    -   2. Control and monitor the display, speaker, other functions and        status, including power on/off, sleep mode on/off, interactive        multimedia contents playback, access authorization to data in        the first processing server, network resource access, network        connectivity, volume, storage capacity, battery level, and        general device conditions, of each of the mobile computing        devices in the student or audience group;    -   3. Control and monitor the functions and status of the first        network infrastructure, including connectivity coverage area        segmentation, network connections and networked resource access        authorization for the mobile computing devices; and    -   4. Control the delivery of the interactive multimedia contents        and lecture or presentation materials to each or subset of the        electronic audio and video equipment and each or subset of        mobile computing devices, wherein the parts or streams of the        interactive multimedia contents and lecture or presentation        materials can be different for each or subset of the electronic        audio and video equipment and each or subset of mobile computing        devices according to a pre-configured setting for the particular        interactive multimedia contents or participant control input        from the mobile computing devices in the lecturer or presenter        group.

In accordance with various embodiments, each of the mobile computingdevices in the lecturer or presenter group are configured to allowcommunication with each of the mobile computing devices in the studentor audience group, wherein the communication can be text and/orgraphical based. In accordance with various embodiments, each of themobile computing devices is configured to be able to access the firstprocessing server for viewing the lecture or presentation materials. Inaddition, each of the mobile computing devices is configured to receiveparticipant's answers to materials displayed that require user inputfrom the participant. The participant's input data is then sent to thefirst processing server for storage and can be viewed from the othermobile computing devices.

In accordance with an alternative embodiment, the active learning systemis implemented on Cloud computing platform that includes a Cloudcomputing processing server or a cluster of one or more Cloud computingprocessing servers configured to allow connections to the mobilecomputing devices. The Cloud computing processing server or the clusterof Cloud computing processing servers can be remotely located outside ofthe classroom or presentation hall and are functional replacement of thefirst processing server. The video/audio equipment for output of theinteractive multi-media contents can be connected to the Cloud computingprocessing server or the cluster of Cloud computing processing serversthrough an input/output device allowing the control by the presenterthrough his/her mobile computing device running a corresponding softwareprogram or mobile application.

In accordance with various embodiments, the Cloud computing based activelearning system is configured to offer additional services in the formof paid contents and metered usage.

It is yet another aspect of the presently claimed invention to provide amobile computing device that integrates with the Cloud computing basedactive learning system outside a classroom or a presentation hall andwithout the need of first registering the mobile computing device andjoining the ALS infrastructure. Features of such mobile computing deviceinclude a resource tray in its graphical user interface. The resourcetray functionalities include a quick access to reference materials andhyperlinks to related resources on the Internet and those residing inthe Cloud computing processing server or the cluster of Cloud computingprocessing servers of the Cloud computing based active learning system.

It is yet another aspect of the presently claimed invention to providesuch method and system for conducting interactive learning inside andoutside of a classroom or presentation hall environment, even where theclassroom's or presentation hall's network infrastructure is out ofreach. In one embodiment, beacons (a class of Bluetooth low energydevices) technology is adopted such that mobile computing devices arenot necessary in enabling the interactive learning experience beyond thereach of classroom's or presentation hall's network infrastructure.Certain beacon-based interactive lectures or curriculums are designed touse only beacons that are wearable on participants, installed at pointof interests, or combinations thereof without the involvement of theparticipants' mobile computing devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention are described in more detail hereinafterwith reference to the drawings, in which

FIG. 1A shows a block diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment ofthe presently claimed classroom interactive learning system;

FIG. 1B shows a block diagram illustrating another exemplary embodimentof the presently claimed classroom interactive learning systemimplemented on Cloud computing platform;

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of a device registration process inaccordance to an embodiment of the presently claimed classroominteractive learning system;

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B show the flow diagrams of a participantauthentication process in accordance to an embodiment of the presentlyclaimed classroom interactive learning system;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating how the interactive multimediacontent pages for a contest for questions with the fastest response areloaded in different devices and the interaction thereof according to oneembodiment of the presently claimed classroom interactive learningsystem;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating how the interactive multimediacontents for a game to learn sentence composition are segmented andassigned to different participating students according to one embodimentof the presently claimed classroom interactive learning system;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating how the interactive multimediacontents for a game to learn rearranging different numbers in order withcomparison operators are assigned to different participating studentsaccording to one embodiment of the presently claimed invention;

FIG. 7A shows a schematic diagram and interface of a game for learningnavigation skills using compass point according to one embodiment of thepresently claimed invention; FIG. 7B shows a schematic diagram of howthe information about another game for learning navigation skills isdistributed among the participating students within the same groupaccording to one embodiment of the presently claimed invention;

FIG. 8 shows an interface of a contest for questions about navigationwith the fastest response according to one embodiment of the presentlyclaimed invention;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating how a game for learning 3-Dstructure is demonstrated and played with different unfolded papertemplates according to one embodiment of the presently claimedinvention;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating how an exercise for learningcalculation of capacity and volume is carried out and the interactionthereof according to one embodiment of the presently claimed invention;

FIG. 11A shows a visual art skills exercise for finding shadow in apainting or photo; and FIG. 11B shows another visual art skills exercisefor learning the change in shadows of an object by selecting differentlight sources from different position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, methods and systems of classroominteractive learning and presentation hall interactive presentation andthe like are set forth as preferred examples. It will be apparent tothose skilled in the art that modifications, including additions and/orsubstitutions may be made without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe invention. Specific details may be omitted so as not to obscure theinvention; however, the disclosure is written to enable one skilled inthe art to practice the teachings herein without undue experimentation.

Base System:

Referring to FIG. 1A. In accordance with various embodiments thepresently claimed invention comprises a first processing server 105 forone or more classrooms or presentation halls; a specifically configuredmobile computing device for each of participants in each of theclassrooms or presentation halls (101 and 103); and optionally one ormore network-capable electronic audio and video equipment 102 in each ofthe classrooms or presentation halls, wherein the electronic audio andvideo equipment can be overhead projectors, electronic video displays,sound amplifying systems, and/or combinations thereof. The firstprocessing server 105, the mobile computing devices 101 and 103, and theelectronic audio and video equipment 102 are interconnected via a firstnetwork infrastructure 104, forming an active learning solution (ALS)infrastructure for the classroom or presentation hall. The first networkinfrastructure 104 can be a local area wired, wireless, or a combinationof wired and wireless network supporting the TCP/IP protocol. In thecase of local area wired network, the first network infrastructure 104includes a router; and in the case of local area wireless network, thefirst network can be based on Wi-Fi technology according to the variousIEEE 802.11 standards and includes a network access point. The firstnetwork also includes network components providing anti-intrusion andaccess control functionalities.

In accordance with various embodiments, the first processing server 105is configured to exchange data with the mobile computing devices 101 and103, wherein the data includes user inputs and parts or streams of theinteractive multimedia contents. The first processing server 105 is alsoconfigured to allow participant control of the electronic audio andvideo equipment 102 using one of the mobile computing devices and feedparts or streams of the interactive multimedia contents to theelectronic audio and video equipment. The first processing server 105 isalso configured to control the first network infrastructure via thenetwork access point or router, adjusting and/or segmenting itsconnectivity coverage area, enabling and disabling network connectionsand networked resource accesses of the mobile computing devices. Inaccordance with one embodiment, the first processing server 105 alsocomprises a data repository for storage of participant information, theinteractive multimedia contents, and other lecture or presentationmaterials. In accordance with another embodiment, the first processingserver 105 communicates with a second processing server 107 for dataretrieval and storage via a second network infrastructure 106, whereinthe second processing server 107 comprises a data repository for storageof participant information, the interactive multimedia contents, andother lecture or presentation materials. The second networkinfrastructure 106 can be the first network infrastructure 104; aseparate local area wired, wireless, or a combination of wired andwireless network supporting the TCP/IP protocol; a wide areacommunication network or a telecommunication network supporting theInternet protocols.

In accordance with various embodiments, the mobile computing devices 101and 103 are grouped into at least two groups: a lecturer or presentergroup, and a student or audience group. Mobile computing devices in thelecturer or presenter group (101) are configured to interact with thefirst processing server 105 to achieve the following functions:

-   -   1. Control and monitor the status, including power on/off,        battery level, network connectivity, volume, and general        conditions, of the electronic audio and video equipment;    -   2. Control and monitor the display, sound volume, power on/off,        sleep mode on/off, interactive multimedia contents playback,        access authorization to data in the first processing server,        network resource access, network connectivity, storage capacity,        battery level, and general device conditions, of each of the        mobile computing devices in the student or audience group;    -   3. Control and monitor the first network, adjusting and/or        segmenting its connectivity coverage area, enabling and        disabling network connections and networked resource accesses of        each or each subset of the mobile computing devices; and    -   4. Control the delivery of the interactive multimedia contents        to each or subset of the electronic audio and video equipment        and each or subset of the mobile computing devices, wherein the        parts or streams of the interactive multimedia contents can be        different for each or each subset of the electronic audio and        video equipment and each or subset of the mobile computing        devices according to a pre-configured setting for the particular        interactive multimedia contents or participant control input        from the mobile computing devices in the lecturer or presenter        group.

In accordance with various embodiments, each of the mobile computingdevices in the lecturer or presenter group (101) are configured to allowcommunication with each of the mobile computing devices in the studentor audience group (103), wherein the communication can be textual and/orgraphical. In accordance with various embodiments, each of the mobilecomputing devices 101 and 103 is configured to be able to access thefirst processing server 105 for viewing lecture or presentation andother reference materials. In addition, each of the mobile computingdevices 101 and 103 is configured to receive participant's answers tomaterials displayed that require user input from the participant. Theparticipant's input data is then sent to the first processing server 105for storage and can be viewed from the other mobile computing devices101 and 103.

In accordance to exemplary embodiments of the processing servers 105 and107, the configuration of the processing servers 105 and 107 can beachieved by the installation and execution of specially designed serverapplication software, which includes at least a user interface andserver backend machine instruction codes.

Exemplary embodiments of the mobile computing devices 101 and 103include tablet computers, laptop computers, Netbook computers, and/orcombinations thereof that are wireless-networking enabled. Theconfiguration of the mobile computing device 101 and 103 can be achievedby the installation and execution of specially designed applicationsoftware, which includes at least a user interface and machineinstruction codes. One exemplary embodiment of such application softwareinstalled in and executed by a tablet computer is a mobile application(App) running on the iOS operating system developed by Apple Inc.Another exemplary embodiment of such user interface is a mobileapplication (App) running on the Android operating system developed byGoogle Inc. In addition, various exemplary embodiments of the mobilecomputing devices include electronic components and circuitries forimage capturing and near field communication (NFC). A NFC-enabled mobilecomputing device can retrieve data from a NFC-enabled device such as aNFC-enabled data storage or security access card.

Cloud Computing Based System:

In accordance with an alternative embodiment, the active learning systemis implemented on Cloud computing platform that includes a Cloudcomputing processing server or a cluster of one or more Cloud computingprocessing servers configured to allow connections to the mobilecomputing devices. Details of the Cloud computing concept can be foundin many documents, one of which is VOORSLUYS et al., Introduction toCloud Computing, Cloud Computing: Principles and Paradigms, February2011, pages 1-44, Wiley Press, New York, U.S.A.; the content of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entity. The Cloud computingprocessing server or the cluster of Cloud computing processing serverscan be remotely located outside of the classroom or presentation halland are functional replacement of the first processing server. Thevideo/audio equipment for output of the interactive multi-media contentscan be connected to the Cloud computing processing server or the clusterof Cloud computing processing servers through an input/output deviceallowing the control by the presenter through his/her mobile computingdevice running a corresponding software program or mobile application.

Referring to FIG. 1B. In accordance with various embodiments thepresently claimed invention comprises a Cloud computing processingserver or a cluster of one or more Cloud computing processing servers(collectively referred to as Cloud computing processing server) 110 forone or more classrooms or presentation halls; a specifically configuredmobile computing device for each of participants in each of theclassrooms or presentation halls (101 and 103); and optionally one ormore electronic audio and video equipment 102 in each of the classroomsor presentation halls, wherein the electronic audio and video equipmentcan be overhead projectors, electronic video displays, sound amplifyingsystems, and/or combinations thereof; and an input/output device 111 forconnecting the electronic audio and video equipment. The Cloud computingprocessing server 110, the mobile computing devices 101 and 103, and theinput/output device 111 are connected to the Internet, forming a Cloudcomputing based ALS infrastructure. The input/output device 111 providesInternet networked access and control capability to the electronic audioand video equipment.

The functionalities that are provided by the processing servers 105 and107 in the non-Cloud computing based ALS infrastructure are thenprovided by the Cloud computing processing server 110. In oneembodiment, the Cloud computing processing server 110 is to serve aplurality of classrooms or presentation halls belonging to differentorganizations/institutes. Portions or whole of the interactivemultimedia contents, and lecture or presentation materials residing inthe Cloud computing processing server 110 can be designated as paidcontents, which are accessible on pay-per-use or paid subscriptionbasis. Optionally, the Cloud computing based ALS infrastructure can beconfigured as metered pay-per-use, paid subscription, orper-user-licensing service.

Registering a New Mobile Computing Device in the ALS Infrastructure ofthe Classroom or Presentation Hall:

Referring to FIG. 2. A mobile computing device that has not previouslybeen registered with a particular ALS infrastructure of a classroom orpresentation hall must first be registered with the ALS infrastructurebefore joining it. The registration of a mobile computing device with anALS infrastructure comprises: 201.) the mobile computing device enteringthe coverage area of the ALS infrastructure; 202.) launching andexecuting an ALS application in the mobile computing device; 203.) themobile computing device connecting to the ALS infrastructure; 204.) afirst processing server in the ALS infrastructure recognizing the mobilecomputing device is not yet registered and instructing the mobilecomputing device to prompt its user for registration; 205.) if the userof the mobile computing device has a computer-generated barcode, theuser can command the mobile computing device to perform an image captureof the computer-generated barcode, wherein the computer-generatedbarcode can be a matrix or two-dimensional barcode such as a QuickResponse (QR) code, and wherein the computer-generated barcode containsencoded information on the identity of the participant and the mobilecomputing device; 206.) the mobile computing device decoding thecomputer-generated barcode and sending the decoded information of thecomputer-generated barcode to the first processing server forverification; 207.) upon a positive verification, the mobile computingdevice is registered; 208.) if the user of the mobile computing devicedoes not have a computer-generated barcode, the user can enter a loginID and a password for registration in a user interface of the ALSapplication running in the mobile computing device; 209.) the mobilecomputing device sending the login ID and password to first processingserver for verification; 210.) upon a positive verification, the mobilecomputing device is registered.

Connecting a Mobile Computing Device to the ALS Infrastructure of theClassroom or Presentation Hall:

In order to access the networked resources, participate in aninteractive lecture or presentation session, and view the interactivemultimedia contents of an ALS infrastructure of a classroom orpresentation hall, a participant must first authenticate and havehis/her registered mobile computing device join the ALS infrastructure.In accordance to various embodiments, participants are divided into twogroups: lecturer or presenter group and student or audience group. Theprocesses of participant authentication and joining of a mobilecomputing device to an ALS infrastructure are different for these twogroups of participants.

Referring to FIG. 3A. The participant authentication and joining of amobile computing device to an ALS infrastructure for a participant inthe lecturer or presenter group comprises: 301.) the mobile computingdevice entering the coverage area of the ALS infrastructure; 302.)launching and executing the ALS application in the mobile computingdevice; 303.) the mobile computing device connecting to the ALSinfrastructure; 304.) a first processing server in the ALSinfrastructure recognizing the mobile computing device has beenregistered and instructing the mobile computing device to prompt itsparticipant for authentication; 305.) if the participant of the mobilecomputing device has a NFC-enabled personal security access card, theparticipant can motion the personal security access card near the mobilecomputing device for the mobile computing device to retrieve theparticipant's personal security access information from the personalsecurity access card; 306.) the mobile computing device sending theparticipant's personal security access information to the firstprocessing server for authentication; 307.) upon a positiveauthentication, the mobile computing device joins the ALSinfrastructure; 308.) if the participant of the mobile computing devicehas a computer-generated barcode, the participant can command the mobilecomputing device to perform an image capture of the computer-generatedbarcode, wherein the computer-generated barcode can be a matrix ortwo-dimensional barcode such as a Quick Response (QR) code and whereinthe computer-generated barcode contains encoded information on theidentity of the participant and the mobile computing device; 309.) themobile computing device decoding the computer-generated barcode andsending the decoded information of the computer-generated barcode to thefirst processing server for authentication; 310.) upon a positiveauthentication, the mobile computing device joins the ALSinfrastructure; 311.) if the participant of the mobile computing devicedoes not have a NFC-enabled security access card or a computer-generatedbarcode, the participant can enter a login ID and a password forauthentication in the ALS application user interface running in themobile computing device; 312.) the mobile computing device sending thelogin ID and password to first processing server for authentication;313.) upon a positive authentication, the mobile computing device joinsthe ALS infrastructure.

Referring to FIG. 3B. The participant authentication and joining of amobile computing device to an ALS infrastructure for a participant inthe student or audience group comprises: 321.) the mobile computingdevice coming into the coverage area of the ALS infrastructure; 322.)launching and executing the ALS application in the mobile computingdevice; 323.) the mobile computing device running the ALS applicationconnecting to the ALS infrastructure; 324.) a first processing server inthe ALS infrastructure recognizing the mobile computing device has beenregistered and instructing the mobile computing device to prompt itsparticipant for authentication; 325.) the participant places his/herNFC-enabled personal security access card near the mobile computingdevice for retrieving the participant's personal security accessinformation from the personal security access card; 326.) the mobilecomputing device sending the participant's personal security accessinformation to the first processing server for authentication; 327.)upon a positive authentication, if no participant from a lecturer orpresenter group has joined the ALS infrastructure, 328.) the mobilecomputing device joins the ALS infrastructure on a temporary basis, whenparticipant from the lecturer or presenter group joins the ALSinfrastructure, 329.) the first processing server sends a notificationto his/her mobile computing device requesting his/her approval of themobile computing device of the participant from the student or audiencegroup joining the ALS infrastructure; if at least one participant from alecturer or presenter group has joined the ALS infrastructure, 329.) anotification is sent to the mobile computing device of the participantfrom the lecturer or presenter group requesting the participant from alecturer or presenter group to approve of the mobile computing device ofthe participant from the student or audience group joining the ALSinfrastructure. If the participant from the lecturer or presenter grouprejects the request, 332.) the mobile computing device of theparticipant from the student or audience group is refused fromparticipation in the interactive lecture or presentation session in theALS infrastructure and denied access to any networked resource in theALS infrastructure; otherwise 331.) the mobile computing device joinsthe ALS infrastructure.

Classroom or Presentation Hall Management:

In accordance to one embodiment of the presently claimed invention,participants in an ALS infrastructure of a classroom or presentationhall are divided into two groups: lecturer or presenter group andstudent or audience group. Through a ALS application user interfacerunning in the mobile computing device, a participant from the lectureror presenter group can control and monitor individually and collectivelythe mobile computing devices of the participants from the student oraudience group. Status of the mobile computing devices that can bemonitored include: sleep mode on/off, battery level, volume, downloadprogress of interactive multimedia contents and lecture or presentationmaterials, contents being displayed on the mobile computing devices, andwhether the mobile computing devices are locked/unlocked fromparticipant operation. Functions of the mobile computing devices thatcan be controlled include: sleep mode on/off, volume, lock/unlock fromparticipant operation, download and playback of interactive multimediacontents and lecture or presentation materials, sharing of the contentsbeing displayed on any mobile computing device with any other mobilecomputing device and/or any of the electronic audio and video equipment.

Exemplary Interactive Multimedia Contents and Their Playback in theClassroom or Presentation Hall:

1.) Literature Composition:

A participant in the lecturer or presenter group, by commanding throughand providing user input to the ALS application user interface runningin his/her mobile computing device, can create sub-groups ofparticipants for the student or audience group for a group participationor competition in a lecture session on literature composition. Theparticipant in the lecturer or presenter group can select the membersfor each sub-group and optionally a leader for each sub-group. Parts orstreams of an interactive multimedia contents are fed to the mobilecomputing devices of the participants in the student or audience group.Each sub-group can receive the same or different parts or streams of theinteractive multimedia contents. This can be controlled and monitored bythe participant in the lecturer or presenter group through the ALSapplication user interface running in his/her mobile computing device.The ALS application user interface running in the mobile computingdevice of each participant in each sub-group in the student or audiencegroup displays the respective parts or streams of the interactivemultimedia contents and provides a text input area for the participantto enter his/her text composition related to or inspired by therespective parts or streams of the interactive multimedia contents. Eachparticipant's text composition is shown simultaneously in the ALSapplication user interface running in the mobile computing devices ofother participants in the sub-group. The final text composition isresulted from combining the individual text compositions of eachparticipant in the sub-group. The final text compositions from eachsub-group are then sent to the mobile computing device of theparticipant in the lecturer or presenter group for review. Theparticipant in the lecturer or presenter group can choose to display allfinal text compositions in all of the mobile computing devices and/or inone or more of the electronic video and audio equipment, such as anoverhead projector, by commanding through the ALS application userinterface running in the mobile computing device of the participant inthe lecturer or presenter group.

2.) In Session Questions and Answers:

The interactive multimedia contents can include one or more video clips,images, sound bits, and/or combination thereof; accompanied by a seriesof questions and possible answers. A participant in the lecturer orpresenter group, by commanding through and providing user input to theALS application user interface running in his/her mobile computingdevice, starts a video clips, images, and/or sound bits download andplayback in all of mobile computing devices of participants in thestudent or audience group for a question-and-answer session. Thecorresponding questions are being displayed along side with the videoclips, images, and/or sound bits. The questions shown can bemultiple-choice questions with their corresponding selections ofpossible answers. The participant in the lecturer or presenter group cancontrol the pace of the playback of the video clips, images, and/orsound bits, and lengths of time for answering the questions. Eachstudent or audience enters his/her answer to each question in the ALSapplication user interface running in his/her mobile computing device.The answers from each student or audience are sent to the mobilecomputing device of the participant in the lecturer or presenter groupfor review. After the questions and answers session is concluded,statistics relating to the performance of the students or audiences,such as the percentage of corrected answers for each question, thenumber of corrected answers for each student or audience, answering timefor each question and for each student or audience, and the number ofstudent or audience who made certain answer selections on each question,are computed and made available for review in all of the mobilecomputing devices and/or one or more of the electronic video and audioequipment, such as an overhead projector, by commanding through the ALSapplication user interface running in the mobile computing device of theparticipant in the lecturer or presenter group.

3.) E-Textbook Playback:

The interactive multimedia contents can include one or more interactivevideo clips, images, text, and/or combination thereof in the format of atextbook having multiple sections and/or chapters. A participant in thelecturer or presenter group, by commanding through and providing userinput to the ALS application user interface running in his/her mobilecomputing device, starts the interactive multimedia contents downloadand playback in all of mobile computing devices of participants in thestudent or audience group and/or one or more of the electronic video andaudio equipment, such as an overhead projector. The participant in thelecturer or presenter group can select and control the pace of theplayback of the sections and/or chapters in the mobile computing deviceof each student or audience. Alternatively, the participant in thelecturer or presenter group can also surrender all or part of theselection and control of the playback of the sections and/or chapters tothe students or audiences.

4.) Voting:

The interactive multimedia contents can include one or more interactivevideo clips, images, text, and/or combination thereof in the format of aseries of sets of selectable items. A participant in the lecturer orpresenter group, by commanding through and providing user input to theALS application user interface running in his/her mobile computingdevice, starts the interactive multimedia contents download and playbackin all of mobile computing devices of the participants in the student oraudience group and/or one or more of the electronic video and audioequipment, such as an overhead projector. The participant in thelecturer or presenter group can select and control the pace of theplayback of the sets of selectable items in the mobile computing deviceof each student or audience. Alternatively, the participant in thelecturer or presenter group can also surrender all or part of theselection and control of the playback of the sets of selectable items tothe students or audiences. Each student or audience casts his/her voteon the selectable items in each set of selectable items in the ALSapplication user interface running in his/her mobile computing device.After the voting session is concluded, statistics of the overall vote ofthe students or audiences on each set of selectable items are computedand made available for review in all of the mobile computing devicesand/or one or more of the electronic video and audio equipment, such asan overhead projector, by commanding through the ALS application userinterface running in the mobile computing device of the participant inthe lecturer or presenter group.

Examples of Interactive Lectures and Curriculums are Illustrated Belowwith the Aid of Figures:

EXAMPLE 1—CONTEST FOR QUESTIONS WITH FASTEST RESPONSE

In FIG. 4, the lecturer launches an in-class quiz or questions by firstshowing a short video relating to the lecture via the lecturer's mobilecomputing device. When lecturer retrieves the relevant interactivemultimedia content, a content page 401 is popped up on lecturer's mobilecomputing device and an icon 401 a is present on the content page 401.By selecting the icon 401 a, it will bring the lecturer and students totwo different content pages (402 and 403), as shown on their mobilecomputing devices respectively, and the same content is simultaneouslyprojected to the screen by an overhead projector (404). Icon 401 bfunctions as “back to index” and by selecting icon 401 c the lecturerwill be brought to control panel and activity checklist function barsafter clicking on it. Steps 402 and 403 proceed simultaneously in thelecturer's mobile computing device and the students' mobile computingdevices. In step 402, information of the video content can be found suchas the name of the video 402 b, time duration of the video 402 c, totalnumber of questions to be answered in the video 402 d, and the number ofquestions remains unanswered 402 e. By clicking on icon 402 a, it bringsthe lecturer and the students to the video playback pages 405 and 406respectively. In step 403, the page presented on the students' mobilecomputing devices has an animation 403 a. The animation 403 a remains inwaiting mode until the lecturer clicks the icon 402 a to start the shortvideo of the contest. Once the lecturer clicks the icon 402 a, theanimation 403 a will go to counting mode where a clock-like animationwill start to count down while the short video to be played is beingloaded. After the loading of the short video is finished, the contentpage in student's mobile computing device will start the streaming ofthe short video (406). Simultaneously, the same animation 404 a will beprojected to the screen by the overhead projector (404) and afterloading the short video, the same content page as shown in step 406 willbe projected to the screen in step 407 simultaneously. At the same time,the lecturer's mobile computing device will go to the same content page405 but with a control bar 405 a, which allows the lecturer to controlthe time of playback, volume, and the screen size of the video shown onthe display of lecturer's mobile computing device. Any changes made onthe video using the control bar 405 a by the lecturer will besynchronized with the video being played in students' mobile computingdevices and on the screen from the overhead projector. After the videois played, the video page in the lecturer's mobile computing device willautomatically jump to a multiple choice question page (408). An icon 408a is for initiating the question once it is selected by the lecturer.The multiple choice page also contains other information such as thetime limit for answering 408 b which can be adjusted by the lecturerbefore initiating the question, a chart for showing the number ofparticipants choosing each of the available choices 408 c, and thecorrect answer of that question 408 d. Once the icon for initiating thequestion 408 a is selected, the answer page with multiple choices willbe loading, and a waiting animation will be popped up on the display ofstudent's mobile computing device (409) and on the screen by theoverhead projector (410) before the answer page is successfully loaded.Each student can select his/her answer within the time limit foranswering as shown on the answer page (411) in his/her mobile computingdevice. A real-time statistic for the number of participants choosingeach answer and the number of participants unanswered will be shown onthe display of the lecturer's mobile computing device (412). The icon408 b for initiating the question in 408 is automatically changed intoan icon 412 a for announcing the result when the answer page starts 412.Once the time for answering the question is up, a message informing thetime is up will be popped up on the display of the students' mobilecomputing devices (413). An animation showing the time is up will alsobe popped up on the screen by the projector simultaneously (414). If theicon for announcing the result is selected by the lecturer, the firstfastest three who answer correctly will be shown on the lecturer'smobile computing device (415); only the first fastest three who answerscorrectly will receive a content page 416 which informs the firstfastest three each of their ranking, the time used for answering thequestion, and their respective scores in that question; for others whoanswers correctly after the first fastest three will receive a contentpage 417 informing that their answers are correct with the time theyused respectively for answering the question and their respective scoresin that question; for those answering incorrectly will receive a contentpage 418 informing that their answer is incorrect, the time they usedrespectively for answering the question and the correct answer; forthose unanswered will receive a content page 419 informing that the timeis up and what the correct answer is. Simultaneously, the name of thefirst three fastest, their respective time used for answering thequestion, their scores, the number of participants choosing each answerwill be shown on the screen by the overhead projector (420). Theadvantages of this contest over other conventional multi-media lecturesinclude synchronizing video playback in all mobile computing devices,real-time question/answer system with substantially no time lapse,immediate review of individual's result and ranking by the participant,and immediate statistics of student result. If that question is followedby another question, an icon 415 a for initiating the next question willbe available on the page (415). After selecting the icon 415 a by thelecturer, the next question will be loaded. If that question is the lastquestion in the contest, the icon 415 a will be changed into an icon“Finish” for closing the contest and it automatically brings lecturerback to the first content page of the contest after selecting the“Finish” icon 421. Lecturer can choose to review the overall scores ofthe participants by launching the control panel after selecting icon 401c and decide whether to project the content under review on the screenby the overhead projector. Lecturer can also check the statistic ofstudents' individual or overall performance for each question accordingto different layouts under the control panel. On the other hand, eachstudent can only check the number of correctly answered questions versusthe total number of questions he/she has answered and the total scoresfrom the correctly answers under the control panel function.

EXAMPLE 2—SENTENCE COMPOSITION

In FIG. 5, a sentence composition game and its related interactivemultimedia contents are retrieved by and playback at the lecturer'smobile computing device (501). Basically, each sentence is segmentedinto different segments and each segment is assigned with a segmentnumber. Each segment may contain one or more than one words. A studentor a group of students will be assigned to put different segments of thesentence in a correct order. In the content page 501, after selecting anicon “sentence composition” 501 a, it will bring the lecturer to a gamemode selection page where there are at least four modes for the lecturerto choose. One of the at least four modes of sentence composition is toassign one of the segments of a sentence to a particular student (502).Both participating and non-participating students in this game will beshown in a panel view where their photos, names and student numbersaccording to the sitting plan in the classroom will be displayed.Available segments of a sentence to be assigned to a particular studentor group of students will be shown as icons on the same page where thelecturer can drag one of the segments along to the tile of a particularstudent. Once that student is assigned with one of the segments of asentence, the respective tile showing that student's photo, name andstudent number will turn into green color in the panel, representing thestatus of being assigned. In another mode of this game (503), lecturercan select more than one segment of a sentence at one time by using twofingers pointing on the selection panel of the segments followed bydragging the selected segments on to the panel. Those students nothaving been assigned with any segment yet will be randomly distributedwith one of the selected segments after the two fingers move away fromthe touching screen. In yet another mode of this game (504), differentsegments of the sentence are randomly distributed to the participatingstudents and each student is assigned with a color for grouping purpose.In a further mode of this game (505), lecturer distributes each segmentto each particular student and assigns group to each student. Bycombining with and arranging the order of different segments received byother students within his/her group, a complete sentence can be formed.It is the task for the students to interact with his/her classmateswithin his/her group to form the sentence by rearranging theirpositions.

EXAMPLE 3—“Who is Larger”

In FIG. 6, a game for arranging at least two different numbers with acomparison operator (‘>’ or, ‘<’) and its interactive multimediacontents are retrieved by and playback at the lecturer's mobilecomputing device (601). The lecturer distributes different numbers andcomparison operator set including two random real numbers and acomparison operator (‘>’ or, ‘<’) to each group of three students.Within each group, each student will receive either one of the twonumbers or the comparison operator. The numbers and comparison operatorsare shown on the students' mobile computing devices. There are at leastfour game modes: one mode is to assign one student with either one ofthe two numbers, followed by assigning another student with anothernumber and a third student with a comparison operator (602); anothermode is to drag a group of two numbers plus a comparison operator to apanel by using two fingers first touching on the group selection bar anddragging the selected group onto the panel showing students' photo, nameand student numbers (603). In such way, each of those not having beenassigned with either one of the numbers or comparison operator will berandomly assigned with either one of the two numbers or a comparisonoperator from the selected group; a yet another mode is to randomlydistribute either one of the two numbers or a comparison operator (604).In the case where the total number of participating students is not amultiple of 3, the remaining student/students will be shown as “notassigned” status on the panel; a further mode is to distribute eitherone of the two numbers or a comparison operator from a group to threedesignated students by lecturer (605). By combining with and arrangingthe order the numbers and comparison operators received by the studentswithin each group, a complete mathematical statement can be formed. Itis the task for the students to interact with his/her classmates withinhis/her group to form the correct mathematical statement by rearrangingtheir positions.

EXAMPLE 4—COMPASS POINT GAME

In FIGS. 7A and 7B, it is provided a game for students to learn how todetermine directions using compass point, where the game includes twoparts namely “Playground” and “Orienteering”. In FIG. 7A, the partcalled “Playground” is designed for a group of ten students. The leaderof each group is provided with an instruction card while the rest of thegroup members are distributed with nine pictures of playgroundfacilitates. Each group should follow the instruction card 701 to putthe right picture in a 3×3 square matrix surrounding a particularpicture of a playground facility in the center of the square matrix 702.For example, an instruction card 701 provides five instructions, andeach of the instructions gives at least one directional relationshipamong the facilities as mentioned in the instruction. In FIG. 7B,another part of the game called “Orienteering” is designed for a groupof six students. The leader (Student A) of each group is provided with avirtual compass map while the rest of the group members (Students B-F)are distributed with five pictures of different facilities. In thispart, the North pointer of compass bar in the compass map can either beat 12 o'clock position or at other position. Similar to the presentationformat of the instruction card in “Playground”, students can determinethe directional relationship among different facilities based on theposition of the leader in the classroom having the virtual compass mapand position of the group members in the classroom having the picturesof the facilities.

EXAMPLE 5—CONTEST FOR COMPASS POINTS WITH FASTEST RESPONSE

Similar to Example 1, the contest of this example contains a series ofmultiple-choice questions with content related to the direction ofdifferent objects. Within a response time set for each question,participating students can choose one of the answers available.Real-time statistic in terms of the number of respondents for eachquestion can be reviewed by the lecturer. Individual performance foreach question and overall performance in the whole contest can bereviewed by the lecturer while the student can only receive a messagewhether his/her answer is correct and ranking of the time spent on thatparticular question until the contest is finished such that the studentcan further review his/her overall result in the contest such as thenumber of correct answers, scores relative to correct answer(s) made andthe ranking among the participating students. In FIG. 8, a content page801 with a graphic having a number of objects is shown on the display ofthe lecturer's and students' mobile computing devices. The same contentpage will also be shown on the screen by the projector. After a presettime duration T₁ (e.g. 3 seconds), the content page 801 willautomatically jump to a question page 802. After another preset timeduration T₂ (e.g. 4 seconds), the question page 802 will automaticallyjump to a multiple choice page 803. Similar to Example 1, after the timelimit for answering, the correct answer will be popped up on students'mobile computing devices and on the screen by the projector. Real-timestatistics for each question will be available to the lecturer duringcount-down of the multiple choice page 803. After-quiz statistics willalso be available to both lecturer and students as different sets of thestatistical data. Each student can only review his/her own result foreach question or his/her overall number of correct answers, time spenton each question, the score in each question, and the overall score. Thefastest three students with the correct answer for each question will beawarded with higher scores while the rest of students answeringcorrectly within the time limit will be awarded with a minimum score.Lecturer can assess the individual's and overall class performance fromthe statistics.

EXAMPLE 6—COLORED 3-D FOLDING PAPERS EXERCISE AND CONTEST

In FIG. 9, the lecturer initiates and retrieves the interactivemultimedia content of this exercise by using his/her mobile computingdevice. Students who have logged into the ALS infrastructure can alsoaccess the interactive multimedia content of this exercise by usingtheir mobile computing devices. Once the content is successfully loadedinto the lecturer's and the students' mobile computing devices, a firstcontent page 901 with a “Start” icon (901 a) will be popped up. Lecturercan select the icon 901 a to initiate the exercise. The same contentpage will also be popped up on students' mobile computing devices and onthe screen in the classroom by the projector (902 and 903). Afterselecting icon 901 a, the content page 901 will jump to second contentpage 904 where the lecturer first has to choose an unfolded paper samplefrom a library containing different paper samples for folding intodifferent 3-D structures. After choosing an unfolded paper sample, thereare two commands for the lecturer to choose from. One of the commands isto start the exercise 904 a and another is to demonstrate how theexercise can be done 904 b. If the lecturer opts to demonstrate byselecting the icon 904 b, a demonstration page 905 will be popped up onlecturer's mobile computing device while the same demonstration pagewill be synchronized on students' mobile computing devices and on thescreen by the projector (906 and 907). In the demonstration page 905,lecturer can use different colors to fill in different segments of theunfolded paper sample for easy identification of which segmentcorresponds to which surface of the 3-D structure to be formed afterfolding. Filled color can be re-selected before an icon for initiatingthe folding 905 a is selected. After the icon 905 a is selected, theunfolded paper sample will be folded into the desired 3-D structureautomatically. By using a pointer (e.g., mouse) or finger touch on atouch screen of his/her mobile computing device, the lecturer can tiltand rotate the folded 3-D structure in different directions along threedifferent axes. Similar to what lecturer is capable of manipulating theunfolded paper sample, once the lecturer chooses the command to startthe exercise 904 a, the students can learn which segment of the unfoldedpaper sample corresponds to which surface of the 3-D structure afterfolding 908. After the 3-D structure is formed, the students can alsotilt and rotate the 3-D structure from one perspective view to anotherperspective view by using a pointer (e.g. mouse) or finger touch on thetouch screens of their mobile computing devices in order to see thosesurfaces that cannot be seen in the first perspective view 909. Besidesthe learning exercise, a quiz for testing the knowledge of students in3-D structure construction from an unfolding paper sample is furtherprovided. In one of the examples of the quiz, a series of differentperspective views of a 3-D structure having different colors filled intodifferent surfaces is provided by the lecturer for students to determinewhich color should be filled into which segment of the unfolded papersample such that the color filled into each segment of the unfoldedpaper sample should match the color of the corresponding segment of the3-D structure provided by the lecturer. Alternatively, color can bechanged into other indicator such as animal character to be filled intoeach segment of the unfolded paper sample. This exercise can be anindividual or group exercise. In the case of being a group exercise,lecturer can choose how to group the students and how to distributedifferent objects to each member of the group according to any of theforegoing examples.

EXAMPLE 7—CAPACITY AND VOLUME CALCULATION EXERCISE AND CONTEST

In FIG. 10, the lecturer initiates and retrieves the interactivemultimedia content of this exercise by using his/her mobile computingdevice. Students who have logged into the ALS infrastructure can alsoaccess the interactive multimedia content of this exercise by usingtheir mobile computing devices. Once the content is successfully loadedto the lecturer's and the students' mobile computing devices, a firstcontent page 1001 with an icon “Start” (1001 a) will be popped up. Thelecturer can select the icon 1001 a to initiate the exercise. Each pairof playing cards showing an empty container with measurement marks and avolume of a liquid will be either randomly or selectively distributed totwo of the participating students. The two students who have receivedthe pair of playing cards will be presented with two different contentpages (1002 and 1003). During the exercise, two students' mobilecomputing devices are communicated with each other according to the dataof the interactive media content being exchanged between the twostudents' mobile computing devices. In the content page 1002, a bottleof liquid is shown on the display of the first student's mobilecomputing device. An icon 1002 a for the first student to pour theliquid out of the bottle is available for selection. Once the icon 1002a is selected, the student can tilt his/her mobile computing device toone side (either left or right) until a threshold of the tilting angleagainst the horizontal plane is reached (e.g. 45°). The tilting motionof the student and the tilting angle can be sensed by a motion sensor(e.g. motion sensing accelerometer) or program pre-installed in thestudent's mobile computing device. Once the tilting angle reaches thethreshold, an animation of pouring liquid from the bottle will be playedon the first student's mobile computing device. In another content page1003, an animation that the empty flask with measurement marks are beingfilled up with the pouring liquid from the bottle in 1002 will be playedon the second student's mobile computing device when it receives asignal from the first student's mobile computing device through theprocessing server that the tilting angle of which has reached thethreshold (e.g. 45°). The liquid being poured into the empty flask willstop when the pre-determined volume of the liquid is completely pouredout of the bottle in 1002. When it happens, the liquid pouring animationin the content page 1002 will stop playing (which means the liquid iscompletely poured out of the bottle), and the content page 1002 will beautomatically shut down and directed to a blank page in the firststudent's mobile computing device. At the same time, the animation offilling up the empty container by the liquid in 1003 will end (whichmeans the liquid is completely poured into the empty flask). The firstand second students can then work together or alone to calculate thevolume of the liquid according to the measurement mark that the liquidreaches in the flask in 1003. Different measuring flasks can be assignedby lecturer in order to allow students to learn how to read measurementmarks on different flasks and calculate the volume according to thelevel of liquid reaching in the flask.

EXAMPLE 8—DIFFERENT CROSS-SECTIONS OF OBJECT

This exercise is designed for a group of five to six students. Similarto other games, lecturer can group students and/or distribute differentplaying cards among students manually or randomly in this exercise. Bydefault, the leader of each group will receive an animation of acontainer structure in various shape (e.g., cylinder, triangular prism,cubic) filled with virtual water. The rest of the group members will bedistributed with different cross-sectional views. As in one of theexercises for learning volume and capacity measurement, a pre-installedmotion sensor or sensing program in the student's mobile computingdevice is provided to sense the tilting motion and angle of thestudent's mobile computing device. When the leader tilts his/her mobilecomputing device to one side (e.g., left or right), a series ofcross-sectional images can be captured by an image capturing module atcertain degrees of tilting angle during the tilting of the mobilecomputing device (e.g., every 5°). The series of cross-sectional viewsof the container taken during the tilting of the mobile computing devicewill be distributed among the rest of the group members. Distribution ofvarious cross-sectional views of the container among the students can beperformed manually by the lecturer or randomly by the computing device.Group members can analyze the cross-sectional views to sequence them inorder according to the tilting motion from vertical to horizontalposition of the container. Alternatively, the object to becross-sectioned can be in irregular shape such as food. Students canalso be initially distributed with some cross-sectional view images fromthe library followed by being given an object in order to determinewhich of the images belong to the object assigned by the lecturer.

EXAMPLE 9—VISUAL ART SKILLS EXERCISE

This exercise can be divided into three parts. The first part of thisexercise is called “finding shadow” (FIG. 11A), where a photo orpainting is first loaded on lecturer's mobile computing device. Afterthe photo or painting is loaded, the lecturer can demonstrate how tocircle the shadow 1101 of the object in the photo or painting on his/hermobile computing device by using drawing tools available in the program.The lecturer can also use the same circle tool to identify shadows indifferent intensities in the photo or painting. The demonstration pagewill be synchronized with the students' mobile computing devices and thescreen in the class by the overhead projector. After demonstration, thelecturer can select “start” icon to send a template of the photo orpainting to student's mobile computing device through the server. Thelecturer's further command to authorize the students to circle theshadow is required. Time is controlled by the lecturer and he/she canstop the program at certain period of time after the authorization tocircle the shadow is sent. All the students' work during the controlledtime will be sent to the lecturer's mobile computing device right afterthe program is stopped. The students' work can be previewed onlecturer's mobile computing device in a form of thumbnail. A particularstudent's work can be displayed on both lecturer's and the students'mobile computing devices while the same student's work can besynchronized on the screen by the overhead projector if the lecturercommands to show to all.

In the second part of the visual art exercise, a computer graphiccontaining a 3-D object 1102 and various light sources from differentdirections 1103 is provided (FIG. 11B). The students can click or touchon each of the various light sources in order to learn the changes inshadow of the object under different light sources from differentdirections. Alternatively, the lecturer can group students as in one ofthe foregoing examples and distribute manually or randomly an objectimage and a shadow image to each of two students. The students shouldpair up themselves by searching for the matching object/shadow in theclass.

In the third part of the visual art skills exercise, students are givena photo or painting at each time to learn how to outline an object inthe photo/painting or even use different colors to paint the outlinedobject. The students can also add other effects to the object such asadding straight or irregular lines. Some of these effects can be foundin a visual art library or from the Internet. Alternatively, studentscan freely draw on a paper template using the available drawing tools inthe program. The lecturer has the authority of when and whether to shareone student's work with other students on their mobile computing deviceand/or project the same to the screen through the overhead projector.Besides visual art effect, students can also incorporate other effectssuch as sound effect into the object. Background of the paper templatecan also be changed by using some background templates retrieved from abackground template library or from the Internet; or created by thestudents and stored in the library.

It is yet another aspect of the presently claimed invention to provide amobile computing device that integrates with the Cloud computing basedALS outside a classroom or a presentation hall and without the need offirst registering the mobile computing device and joining the ALSinfrastructure, allowing its user to access the content stored withinthe ALS Cloud computing processing server or the cluster of Cloudcomputing processing servers. The user's access to the content can bebased on paid contents and/or metered usage. Features of such mobilecomputing device include a resource tray in its graphical userinterface. The resource tray functionalities include a quick access toreference materials and hyperlinks to related resources on the Internetand those residing in the Cloud computing processing server or thecluster of Cloud computing processing servers of the Cloud computingbased active learning system.

Beacon-Based Interactive Lectures and Curriculums:

Returning to FIGS. 1A and 1B. In accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention, the active learning system includes a plurality ofbeacons 210 and 220, which belong to a class of Bluetooth low energy(BLE) devices. An ordinarily skilled person in the art can appreciatethat other low cost wireless data transmission technologies, devices,and standards (i.e. Wi-Fi, RFID, NFC, etc.) may also be adopted withoutdeviating from the principle of the present invention. The beacons 210and 220 can be used in conjunction with the participants' mobilecomputing devices, or the beacons can be used without the involvement ofany mobile computing device. Certain beacon-based interactive lecturesor curriculums are designed to use only beacons 210, 220 that arewearable on participants, installed at point of interests, orcombinations thereof.

The goal of the beacon-based interactive lectures and curriculums is tointegrate physical social activities with virtual interactive lecturesor curriculums to enhance the overall learning experience of theparticipants. Through the use of the beacons, the active learning systemenables a personalized physical and virtual social network between andwithin classrooms or presentation halls, home, and extracurricularsites. The coverage of the beacon-based interactive lectures andcurriculums extends from education to other life aspects.

1.) Management of Group Excursion:

In a group excursion (i.e. a school outing), the attendance taking andtracking of students can be accomplished using wearable beacons 210.Each participating student is wearing a wearable beacon 210 with aunique identification. A guide or leader, by commanding through andproviding user input to the ALS application user interface running inhis/her mobile computing device, can take attendance of theparticipating students at any place and at anytime, such as whengathering at a pick up location or in transit. When the wearable beacons210 on the participating students are within the proximity of the mobilecomputing device of the guide or leader, the ALS application running inthe mobile computing device receives the wireless data signaltransmission from the detected wearable beacons 210. The ALS applicationuser interface displays the detected beacons' identifications with thepre-configured matching names of the participating students. Any missingstudent can easily be identified by comparing a pre-configured list ofstudents who signed up for the excursion and the list of detectablebeacons. Because the transmission of wireless data signal from thewearable beacons 210 is continuous throughout the excursion, thestudents' locations can be tracked by taking multiple attendances by theALS application running in the mobile computing device of the guide orleader. With the mobile computing device connected to the ALS Cloudcomputing processing server or the cluster of Cloud computing processingservers, real-time attendance information of the students can beuploaded to the ALS Cloud computing processing server or the cluster ofCloud computing processing servers such that remote users (i.e.parents), by using the ALS application user interface running in his/hermobile computing device, can monitor the locations of the students.

2.) Delivery of Point-of-Interest Based Contents:

Location-based beacons 220 can be installed at or nearpoint-of-interests, such as historical landmarks, event sites, andexhibition articles. When a participating student using his/her mobilecomputing device running the ALS application is positioned near alocation-based beacon 220, the mobile computing device receiveswirelessly the identification data of the location-based beacon 220. TheALS application processes the identification data and sends theinformation to the ALS Cloud computing processing server or the clusterof Cloud computing processing servers to retrieve a previously storedinteractive media content associating with the point of interest. Theinteractive media content is sent back to the mobile computing devicefor display and playback, supplementing the physical activitiespertaining to the point of interest. The interactive media content canalso include game or educational instructions (i.e. directions and mapsto the next point of interest). By sending the identification data ofone or more of the location-based beacons 220 back the ALS Cloudcomputing processing server or the cluster of Cloud computing processingservers, the movement and progress of the student can be tracked forsafety and assessment purposes.

In another embodiment, the function of the location-based beacons 220can be served by Global Positional System (GPS) coordinates. Forexample, instead of receiving the identification data of thelocation-based beacons 220, the student's mobile computing devicecontinuously receives GPS coordinates data wirelessly throughout his/hertrip. The ALS application running in the mobile computing deviceprocesses the received GPS coordinates data processes and when areceived GPS coordinate matches a pre-configured GPS coordinate of apoint of interest, the mobile computing device sends the information tothe ALS Cloud computing processing server or the cluster of Cloudcomputing processing servers to retrieve a previously stored interactivemedia content associating with the point of interest.

In another embodiment, it is not necessary for the students to carrytheir mobile computing devices. In this case, each participating studentwears a wearable beacon 210 with a unique identification. When theparticipating student reaches a point of interest, the correspondinglocation-based beacon 220 acts as a receiver to receive the wirelessdata signal transmission from the participating student's wearablebeacon 210. In this embodiment, the location-based beacons 220 areconnected to the ALS Cloud computing processing server or the cluster ofCloud computing processing servers such that the location-based beacons220 can send to the ALS Cloud computing processing server or the clusterof Cloud computing processing servers the identifications of thereceived wireless data signal transmission from the participatingstudent's wearable beacon 210. This way, each participating student'sitinerary during the excursion is recorded. When the participatingstudent later accesses his/her mobile computing device running the ALSapplication, the ALS application can retrieve from the ALS Cloudcomputing processing server or the cluster of Cloud computing processingservers his/her itinerary of the excursion, along with the interactivemedia content associating with each point of interest visited for reviewand/or sharing. This way, the active learning experience is extendedfrom the classrooms or presentation halls to extracurricular sites tohome.

3.) Tracking Offline Activities:

With the use of wearable beacons 210 and location-based beacons 220,offline activities of a student can be tracked continuously. Forexample, location-based beacons 220 can be installed in a library, amusic room, and a gymnasium. When the student checks in to one of thevicinities, the corresponding location-based beacon 220 acts as areceiver to receive the wireless data signal transmission from thestudent's wearable beacon 210, serving as a check-in notice. In thisembodiment, the location-based beacons 220 are connected to the ALSCloud computing processing server or the cluster of Cloud computingprocessing servers such that the location-based beacons 220 can send tothe ALS Cloud computing processing server or the cluster of Cloudcomputing processing servers the identifications of the receivedwireless data signal transmission from the student's wearable beacon210. Over a time period, the collected check-in notices form astatistical data pool on the student's behaviors. For example, thestatistical data pool may show a pattern of time spent in the library,music room, and the gymnasium. This in turn helps teachers, schoolcounselors, and parents in assessing the overall wellness and growth ofthe student.

The embodiments disclosed herein utilize embodiments of the mobilecomputing devices that include, but not limited to, tablet computers,laptop computers, Netbook computers, and/or combinations thereof thatare wireless-networking enabled. In various embodiments, the mobilecomputing device comprises at least a computer processor that isconfigured to execute the ALS application and provide exclusively theALS application user interface. As such, the mobile computing device isspecifically purposed for the ALS application only and no otherapplication. The computer processor is also configured to provide thedata communication handling and coordination with the ALS Cloudcomputing processing server or the cluster of Cloud computing processingservers, between and among a group of multiple mobile computing devicessuch that the playback of interactive media contents and user interfaceactions are synchronized in the mobile computing devices in the group.This entails that when one mobile computing device is interrupted (i.e.lost network connectivity) in its playback of interactive media contentsor user interface actions, other mobile computing devices in thesynchronized group are signaled to stop and re-synchronized when theinterrupted mobile computing device resumes. The mobile computing devicefurther comprises an electronic touch display screen configured todisplay the ALS application user interface displays and receive userinput; wide area wireless data communication system components that arecompatible with industry standards such as Wi-Fi; short distance datacommunication system components that are compatible with industrystandards such as Bluetooth and BLE; near-field communication (NFC) datacommunication system components; and GPS signal receiving systemcomponents.

The embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented using generalpurpose or specialized computing devices, computer processors, orelectronic circuitries including but not limited to digital signalprocessors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGA), and other programmable logic devicesconfigured or programmed according to the teachings of the presentdisclosure. Computer instructions or software codes running in thegeneral purpose or specialized computing devices, computer processors,or programmable logic devices can readily be prepared by practitionersskilled in the software or electronic art based on the teachings of thepresent disclosure.

In some embodiments, the present invention includes computer storagemedia having computer instructions or software codes stored thereinwhich can be used to program computers or microprocessors to perform anyof the processes of the present invention. The storage media caninclude, but are not limited to, floppy disks, optical discs, Blu-rayDisc, DVD, CD-ROMs, and magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, flash memorydevices, or any type of media or devices suitable for storinginstructions, codes, and/or data.

The foregoing description of the present invention has been provided forthe purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.Many modifications and variations will be apparent to the practitionerskilled in the art.

The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical application, therebyenabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments and with various modifications that are suited tothe particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of theinvention be defined by the following claims and their equivalence.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for conducting interactive learningsession in a classroom or presentation in a presentation hall,comprising: a first network infrastructure; a first processing serverconnected to the first network infrastructure and configured to servemultimedia lecture or presentation material content data and exchangedata from one or more mobile computing devices connected to the firstnetwork infrastructure; the one or more mobile computing devices, eachhaving a computer processor configured for receiving and displaying themultimedia lecture or presentation material content data, facilitatinguser input, and receiving the input data; wherein each computerprocessor of the at least one mobile computing device adapted to be usedby a lecturer or presenter is configured to provide a user interface tobe used by lecturer or presenter; and each computer processor of the twoor more mobile computing devices adapted to be used by students oraudience is configured to provide a user interface to be used bystudents or audience; wherein the first processing server and the one ormore mobile computing devices are interconnected via the first networkinfrastructure; wherein the mobile computing device adapted to be usedby the lecturer or presenter is further configured to control andmonitor display, sound volume, power on/off, sleep mode on/off,interactive multimedia contents playback, access authorization to datain the first processing server, network resource access, networkconnectivity, volume, storage capacity, battery level, and generaldevice conditions of each of the one or more mobile computing devicesadapted to be used by students or audience; wherein the mobile computingdevice adapted to be used by the lecturer or presenter is furtherconfigured to control and monitor the first network infrastructure,adjusting and segmenting connectivity coverage area of the first networkinfrastructure, enabling and disabling network connections and networkedresource accesses of each of the one or more mobile computing devicesadapted to be used by students or audience; wherein the one or moremobile computing devices adapted to be used by students or audiencebeing divided into two or more logical sub-groups of one or more mobilecomputing devices adapted to be used by students or audience accordingto user input received by the mobile computing device adapted to be usedby the lecturer or presenter; wherein the mobile computing deviceadapted to be used by the lecturer or presenter is further configured tocontrol real-time delivery of one or more different parts of themultimedia lecture or presentation material content data to each of theone or more mobile computing devices adapted to be used by students oraudience, and to control which one or more parts of the multimedialecture or presentation material content data being delivered to each ofthe logical sub-groups; wherein the one or more different parts of themultimedia lecture or presentation material content data are deliveredto the one or more mobile computing devices simultaneously, enabling areal-time synchronized interactive lecture or presentation experienceamong the students or audience in the classroom or presentation hall;wherein the multimedia lecture or presentation material content data isdivided into the one or more different parts according to apre-configured setting or user input received by the mobile computingdevice adapted to be used by the lecturer or presenter; and wherein eachof the one or more mobile computing devices is further configured in tosynchronize playback of content data and user interface action with theother one or more mobile computing devices such that when one of themobile computing devices is interrupted in the playback of content dataor user interface action, playback of content data or user interfaceaction in the other mobile computing devices is stopped until theinterruption is resolved.
 2. The system of claim 1, further comprisingone or more electronic audio and video equipment for receiving anddisplaying one or more different parts of the multimedia lecture orpresentation material content data; wherein the mobile computing deviceadapted to be used by the lecturer or presenter is further configured tocontrol real-time delivery of one or more different parts of themultimedia lecture or presentation material content data to each of theaudio and video equipment and to control which one or more parts of themultimedia lecture or presentation material content data being deliveredto each of the audio and video equipment; and wherein the one or moredifferent parts of the multimedia lecture or presentation materialcontent data are delivered to the audio and video equipmentsimultaneously, enabling a real-time synchronized interactive lecture orpresentation experience among the students or audience in the classroomor presentation hall.
 3. The system of claim 1, further comprising: asecond network infrastructure; and a second processing server connectedto the second network infrastructure and configured to store themultimedia lecture or presentation material content data to be retrievedby the first processing server also connected to the second networkinfrastructure.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile computingdevice adapted to be used by the lecturer or presenter is furtherconfigured to facilitate group participation or competition in a lecturesession on literature composition for the students or audience; whereineach of the logical sub-groups of the one or more mobile computingdevices adapted to be used by students or audience receives one or moredifferent parts of the multimedia lecture or presentation materialcontent data; wherein the mobile computing device adapted to be used bythe lecturer or presenter is further configured to control which one ormore parts of the multimedia lecture or presentation material contentdata being delivered to each of the logical sub-groups of the one ormore mobile computing devices adapted to be used by students oraudience; wherein each of the one or more mobile computing devicesadapted to be used by students or audience is further configured intheir computer processors to receive input of a text composition, and tosimultaneously and in real-time display a combined text composition ofone or more input of text compositions received by one or more other theone or more mobile computing devices adapted to be used by students oraudience within the same logical sub-group; and wherein the mobilecomputing device adapted to be used by the lecturer or presenter isfurther configured to receive and display the combined text compositionof each logical sub-group of the one or more mobile computing devicesadapted to be used by students or audience.
 5. The system of claim 1,wherein the mobile computing device adapted to be used by the lectureror presenter is further configured to facilitate participation orcompetition in a question-and-answer session for the students oraudience; wherein each of the one or more mobile computing devicesadapted to be used by students or audience receives one or moredifferent parts of the multimedia lecture or presentation materialcontent data, wherein each part of the multimedia lecture orpresentation material content data comprises at least one question;wherein the mobile computing device adapted to be used by the lectureror presenter is further configured to control which one or more parts ofthe multimedia lecture or presentation material content data beingdelivered to each of the one or more mobile computing devices adapted tobe used by students or audience; wherein each of the one or more mobilecomputing devices adapted to be used by students or audience is furtherconfigured in their computer processors to receive input of one or moreanswers to the one or more questions within the one or more parts of themultimedia lecture or presentation material content data received anddisplayed; wherein the mobile computing device adapted to be used by thelecturer or presenter is further configured to receive and display theone or more answers received by the one or more mobile computing devicesadapted to be used by students or audience; and wherein the mobilecomputing device adapted to be used by the lecturer or presenter isfurther configured to display performance statistics, wherein theperformance statistics include a percentage of corrected answers foreach question, number of corrected answers received from each of the oneor more mobile computing devices adapted to be used by students oraudience, answering time for each question for each of the one or moremobile computing devices adapted to be used by students or audience, andnumber of the one or more mobile computing devices adapted to be used bystudents or audience from which certain answer selections are receivedon each of the questions.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the lectureror presenter, by using the mobile computing device adapted to be used bythe lecturer or presenter is further configured to facilitate a votingsession for the students or audience; wherein each of the one or moremobile computing devices adapted to be used by students or audiencereceives one or more different parts of the multimedia lecture orpresentation material content data, wherein each part of the multimedialecture or presentation material content data comprises a series of setsof selectable items; wherein the mobile computing device adapted to beused by the lecturer or presenter is further configured to control whichone or more parts of the multimedia lecture or presentation materialcontent data being delivered to each of the one or more mobile computingdevices adapted to be used by students or audience; wherein each of theone or more mobile computing devices adapted to be used by students oraudience is further configured in their computer processors to receiveinput of item selections for each of the sets of selectable items withinthe one or more parts of the multimedia lecture or presentation materialcontent data received and displayed; wherein the mobile computing deviceadapted to be used by the lecturer or presenter is further configured toreceive and display the item selections for the sets of selectable itemsreceived by the one or more mobile computing devices adapted to be usedby students or audience; and wherein the mobile computing device adaptedto be used by the lecturer or presenter is further configured to displayvote statistics.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile computingdevice adapted to be used by the lecturer or presenter is furtherconfigured to create and configure the logical sub-group division of theone or more mobile computing devices adapted to be used by students oraudience.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile computing deviceadapted to be used by the lecturer or presenter is further configured tocreate and configure a leader for each of the logical sub-groups.
 9. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising one or more location-based beaconseach installed at or near a point-of-interest; wherein the one or moremobile computing devices are further configured to receive data signaltransmitted by the location-based beacons.
 10. The system of claim 1,further comprising one or more wearable beacons each worn by a studentor audience; wherein the mobile computing device adapted to be used bythe lecturer or presenter is further configured to receive data signaltransmitted by the wearable beacons.
 11. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising one or more location-based beacons each installed at or neara point-of-interest; and one or more wearable beacons each worn by astudent or audience; wherein the location-based beacons are configuredto receive data signal transmitted by the wearable beacons.